In this section Monica shares appleaday news, advice and her healthy nutritional recipes.

What’s for breakfast?

Cereals have been around longer than you may think. Back in the late 1800s they started life as healthy breakfast options, however by 1939 sugars and sweetening agents were added, and health took second place to what gradually became a hugely marketable industry.

By the 50s the likes of Mr Kellogg set the norm that cereals should be our first meal of the day. Sundays may have been cereal-free zones for some, but in the main, the daily choices to ‘break your night’s fast’, had names like Cocoa Pops, Cheerios, Rice Crispies, Sugar pops and Shreddies, with most of them loaded with sugar and very few health-giving nutrients.

In the early 1900s the Swiss joined the American cereal craze and brought out muesli, a healthy mix of rolled oats, dried fruit and nuts which gained huge popularity in the 1960s, and currently sits at the top of preferred cereals in Europe.

So why are cereals so popular?

Initially, back in the late 1880s, they were a novelty but still an unknown territory, and the taste was pretty bland. Once sugar and sweetening agents were added after 1939, that was it, the world was hooked because both gluten and sugar are highly addictive. Plus they were, and remain, a quick food option. Take the cereal out of the packet, add milk or juice, and voila, breakfast is served.

The trouble is, most commercial cereals are low in nutrients and fibre – don’t have much substance to them – and the brief spike of energy from the hidden, or blatantly added, sugars crashes your system about an hour later, and you’re hungry all over again. Time for a second breakfast – and more sugary calories.

Then there’s the gluten component. Grains just ain’t what they used to be. We’ve pfaffed around with new varieties and changed old ones too much for our own good, increasing the yield perhaps but also increasing the gluten component – making them more shelf-friendly, but often less gut friendly.

Another reason for cereal’s popularity is that we are living in a fast-paced western world. Despite the apparent awareness (T.V., written articles, books, various movements) on the Worth of Real Food, and the Rise of Disease, owing to the current rubbish modern diet, the majority of the western world still yearns for something easy and packaged. Fast options to match the fast-pace of life. My cooking-from-scratch would be too old hat for most, and even though there’s a range of wonderful movements on the rise, eg. Cooking from Scratch, Mindful Eating, Slow Cooking… or just Slow, there’s still a huge part of the western world living in the fast, and even faster, lane. There resides a whole other issue for chat another day

With gluten now in the limelight as a potential intolerance food, part of my nutrition recommendations for patients with gut dysbiosis, will often include a gluten exclusion period of 1-2 weeks. A short week or two of leaving out gluten in order to find out how the person feels. Makes sense, but wow, the reaction to this suggestion can be spectacular.

‘But WHAT will I eat for breakfast!!!?’ Confused, devastated expression.

Yes, I do agree that the move from cereal, or toast, to no-cereal and no-toast is not easy. But there really are some delicious options.

So here we go. Some suggestions for anyone who says they don’t know what to eat for breakfast other than muesli, corn flakes, cheerios or toast.

If you’re a lover of eggs, how about a poached or softly boiled egg on a bed of greens. The greens replace the toast! Try fresh rocket or shredded spinach or kale – cook them lightly in broth or coconut oil and add spices of your choice, if you prefer cooked to raw.
For added interest and taste, sprinkle a mix of lightly toasted seeds on top, or add some cubes of avocado. If you haven’t overcooked your softly boiled or poached egg, the yolk will break and give you the ‘dressing’ on your bed of greens (then add some freshly ground pepper or turmeric).
This is a great protein breakfast with a wide selection of vitamins and minerals from all those greens. Plus it’s tasty and easy.

Second suggestion: Same as above but use half a large tomato instead of the greens. The tomato replaces the toast!

Or how about a thick, nourishing juice? This may be in the too-hard basket for many, but once you have your new mini blender or juicer, you won’t look back. Instructions and recipes abound, and there are loads of affordable ones on the market (my youngest at college just bought a blender for £15). Adding ground flaxseeds or chia seeds – protein – will bulk up the juice and satiate you. And remember, keep vegetables as the main ingredient rather than fruit.

Saying that, there’s nothing like a plate of exotic fruit when you’re on holidays. Papaya is one of those remarkable fruits with high concentrations of excellent anti oxidants; high in vitamin C and B vits as well as minerals, plus the enzyme papain which has anti- inflammatory properties – great if you’re suffering allergies, or digestive problems – IF, however, you tolerate exotic fruits.
Do add nuts to your fruit platter so that you’re having protein with your meal and slowing down the sugar hit from the fructose/glucose in the fruit.

If, like me, you love chai lattes try the real deal rather than the powdered mix offered by many high street coffee shops – nothing tea-like about them, just a huge sugar hit and all sorts of strange things in the powder. Mix all the whole chai spices (cardamom, ginger, allspice, cinnamon or just the ones you like) with a green tea – another immune booster – or a peppermint/green tea – even more interesting – and add the brew to some hot coconut or almond milk.

What other breakfast options are there? The range is inexhaustible because who says that breakfast has to include fruit or eggs, tomatoes or for that matter, toast or cereal?!

This week I’ve been eating chicken/veg broth every morning for breakfast. I have tailor-made my breakfast to suit what’s going on in my life, namely an infection which moved from drippy cold to heavy chest cough on the plane somewhere over Dubai.

Chicken-veg broth is nutrient-dense and easily digestible. It’s proving to be a wonderfully nourishing start to my day…even my voice returns for a brief visit after the morning hot comforting bowl.
And what benefits am I reaping from my slow-cooked chicken broth?
Firstly, loads of minerals in a form that my body can easily absorb – minerals like magnesium, calcium, phosphorus and sulphur, which are needed for every system in my body to function well. The broth also contains collagen, proline, glycine and glutamine – with glutamine and collagen being real gems as they have immune-boosting properties and soothe the digestive tract’s lining. Broth has become a real benefit to clients with digestive disorders, whether we’re talking Crohn’s, IBS, UC or leaky gut. And considering the link between auto immune diseases and gut dysbiosis, bone broth should be part of the menu for anyone with an auto immune condition.

There is nothing wrong in making up your own breakfast. A bowl of soup, or some steamed vegetables, or brown rice and avocado with nuts perhaps?

Some useful tips, however, to ensure your breakfast will sustain you longer than an hour might be:

Add a protein source to your breakfast in order to fill you up, slow down any blood glucose hit, and drip-feed your energy levels throughout the morning. This protein could be eggs, chicken, goat’s cheese, plain yoghurt, nuts, seeds or cooked pulses.

Secondly, try to add some vegetables to your breakfast plate. Our bodies just can’t be alkaline enough in this acid-food western world.

Finally, eat to enjoy! My soup has become a real comfort this week – definitely food for the soul. Hope you make yours the same

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Privacy Policy

PRIVACY NOTICE

Appleaday holds some information about you. This document outlines how that information is used, who I may share that information with and how I keep it secure. This notice does not provide exhaustive detail, however, I am happy to provide any additional information or explanation needed.

Any requests for this should be sent to monicasappleaday@gmail.com. I keep my Privacy Notice under regular review. This Privacy Notice was last reviewed in May 2018.

What I Do

Appleaday provides nutritional therapy services to clients to improve their health through diet and lifestyle interventions. I focus on preventative healthcare, the optimisation of physical and mental health and chronic health conditions. Through nutritional therapy consultations, dietary and lifestyle analysis and biochemical testing, I aim to understand the underlying causes of your health issues which I will seek to address through personalised dietary therapy, nutraceutical prescription (supplements) and lifestyle advice as well as health workshops.

1. How I Obtain Your Personal Data

Information provided by you

You provide me with personal data in the following ways:

By completing a nutritional therapy questionnaire.

By signing a terms of engagement form.

Discussion during a nutritional therapy consultation.

Through email, over the telephone or by post.

By online payment or via Paypal for events).

This may include the following information:

basic details such as name, address, contact details and next of kin.

details of contact I’ve had with you such as referrals and appointment requests.

I use this information in order to provide you with direct healthcare. This means that the legal basis of me holding your personal data is for legitimate interest.

Following completion of your healthcare I retain your personal data for the period defined by our professional association BANT and registrant body, CNHC. This enables me to process any complaint you may make. In this case the legal basis of me holding your personal data is for contract administration.

Information I get from other sources

I may obtain sensitive medical information in the form of test results from biochemical testing companies. I use this information in order to provide you with direct healthcare. This means that the legal basis of my holding your personal data is for legitimate interest.

I may obtain sensitive information from other healthcare providers. The provision of this information, however, is subject to you giving me your express consent.

If I do not receive this consent from you, I will not be able to coordinate your healthcare with that provided by other providers which means the healthcare provided by me may be less effective.

2. How I use your personal data

I act as a data controller for use of your personal data to provide direct healthcare. I also act as a controller and processor in regard to the processing of your data from third parties such as testing companies and other healthcare providers. I act as a data controller and processor in regard to the processing of online payments.

I undertake at all times to protect your personal data, including any health and contact details, in a manner which is consistent with our duty of professional confidence and the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) concerning data protection. I will also take reasonable security measures to protect your personal data storage.

I may use your personal data where there is an overriding public interest in using the information e.g. in order to safeguard an individual, or to prevent a serious crime. Also where there is a legal requirement such as a formal court order. I may use your data for marketing purposes, such as newsletters, but this would be subject to you giving me your express consent (allowing subscription). Your name and address would never be shared.

3. Do you share my information with other organisations?

I will keep information about you confidential. I will only disclose your information with other third parties with your express consent with the exception of the following categories of third parties:

My registrant body, CNHC and my professional association, BANT, for the processing of a complaint made by you.

Any contractors and advisors that provide a service to me or act as my agents on the understanding that they keep the information confidential.

Anyone to whom I may transfer my rights and duties under any agreement I have with you.

Any legal or crime prevention agencies and/or to satisfy any regulatory request (eg, CNHC if I have a duty to do so or if the law allows me to do so.

I may share some of your information with supplement companies and biochemical testing companies as part of providing you with direct healthcare. This will always be with your knowledge; I will not include any sensitive information.

I will seek your express consent before sharing your information with your GP or other healthcare providers. However if we believe that your life is in danger then I may pass your information onto an appropriate authority (such as the police, social services in the case of a child or vulnerable adult, or GP in case of self-harm) using the legal basis of vital interests.

I may share your case history in an anonymised form with our peers for the purpose of professional development. This may be at clinical supervision meetings, conferences, online forums, and through publishing in medical journals, trade magazines or online professional sites. I will seek your explicit consent before processing your data in this way.

4. What are your rights?

Every individual has the right to see, amend, delete or have a copy, of data held that can identify you, with some exceptions. You do not need to give a reason to see your data.

If you want to access your data you must make a subject access request in writing to monicasappleaday@gmail.com. Under special circumstances, some information may be withheld.

I shall respond within 20 working days from the point of receiving the request and all necessary information from you. If I am out of the country for these 20 working days I will advise you and arrange a date when I can send your information. My response will include the details of the personal data I hold on you including:

Sources from which I acquired the information.

The purposes of processing the information.

Persons or entities with whom we are sharing the information.

You have the right, subject to exemptions, to ask to:

Have your information deleted.

Have your information corrected or updated where it is no longer accurate.

Ask me to stop processing information about you where I am not required to do so by law or in accordance with the BANT and CNHC guidelines.

Receive a copy of your personal data, which you have provided to me, in a structured, commonly used and machine readable format and have the right to transmit that data to another controller, without hindrance from me.

Object at any time to the processing of personal data concerning you.

I do not carry out any automated processing, which may lead to automated decision based on your personal data.

If you would like to invoke any of the above rights then please write to the Data Controller at Horton Hollow, Horton, Wimborne, Dorset, BH21 7EP or email monicasappleaday@gmail.com.

5. What safeguards are in place to ensure data that identifies me is secure?

I only use information that may identify you in accordance with GDPR. This requires me to process personal data only if there is a legitimate basis for doing so and that any processing must be fair and lawful.

Within the health sector, I also have to follow the common law duty of confidence, which means that where identifiable information about you has been given in confidence, it should be treated as confidential and only shared for the purpose of providing direct healthcare. I will protect your information, inform you of how your information will be used, and allow you to decide if and how your information can be shared.

I also ensure the information I hold is kept locked in a secure location, and protect personal and confidential information held on equipment such as laptops with encryption (which masks data so that unauthorised users cannot see or make sense of it). I also ensure external data processors that support us are legally and contractually bound to operate and prove security arrangements are in place where data that could or does identify a person are processed.

Appleaday is registered with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) as a data controller and collects data for a variety of purposes. A copy of the registration is available through the ICO website (search by business name).

6. How long do you hold confidential information for?

All records held by appleaday will be kept for the duration specified by guidance from our professional association BANT & CNHC (8 years).

7. Website technical details

a. Forms

I use electronic forms on my website making use of an available ‘forms module’ which has a number of built-in features to help ensure privacy. I also aim to use secure forms where appropriate.

b. Newsletter

If you subscribe to the appleaday newsletter only your name and email address - nothing more - is added to the newsletter mailing list, which is managed via Mailchimp. To find out about their privacy policy pleasecontact Mailchimp.

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Cookies are small. I do not make use of cookies to collect any private or personally identifiable information. The technical platform of this website uses cookies solely to aid the proper technical functioning of the website. The cookies used contain random strings of characters alongside minimal information about the state and session of the website – which in no way collects or discloses any personal information about you as a visitor. Advanced areas of this site may use cookies to store your presentation preferences in a purely technical fashion with no individually identifiable information. Most web browsers allow some control of most cookies through the browser settings. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit www.allaboutcookies.org To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites visit http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

8. Complaints

If you have a complaint regarding the use of your personal data then please contact me at monicasappleaday@gmail.com and I will do my best to help you.

If your complaint is not resolved to your satisfaction and you wish to make a formal complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), you can contact them on 01625 545745 or 0303 1231113.